Connecticut western news., 1887-12-21
SHARPSHOOTING.
The Experience of a Confederate
 Soldier ill the War.

OOlu1Cl llAO w eSAs How a Federal's Deadly Rifle
 was Finally Silenced.
 Inpassing ia and out of the lines as scout writes an cx-Confcderate soldier in tic Detroit Free Press, saw more or lcssof the sharpshootcrs of both armies, and was twice wounded from Federal fifc-pits, but the closest and best shoot jAgsof the sort ever saw was around 5 PctefsLurg.
 ' At points around Petersburg, where the lines of carthworks were only pistol- shot apart, the sharpshooter piled his rife night aud day, and they became living terror to both sides. I was for two weeks in the Confederate works, opposite Grants Fort He'll, and al- though tons upon tons of Federal shot and shell were hurled at us, we lost more men by the bullet of the sharpshooters than by all cannonading. In the Confederate works, just above the fort which Butler blew up and which has since been known as the Crater, the most effective cannon was silenccd for two days by Federal sharpshooter who ensconced himself only stonc's throw away. I do not know that the one man held the place for two nights and two days, but we judged SO from the style of firing, and because when we were finally rid of him no one else took his place. He crept out from the Federal line in dark and rainy night, dug rife pit, banked up the dirt around it, and killed two of our men between daylight and sunrise. He had sixteen-shooter rife, and he gave all his attention to one embrasure in the fort and before noon the piece of artil- lcry at that embrasure was silenced.
 A round dozen Confederate sharp shooters were detailed to kill the fellow off, but he would not be killed. The dirt was knocked about his ears in per- feet clouds by bullets, and now and then piece of filled artillery sent a shell blowing along over him, but he was there to stay. When night came we intended to creep out and kill or make him prisoner, but To! a whole company was brought up and stationed in the ravine just behind him, where their fire would sweep the field around his pit, and we had to turn to some l otAer plan. He was there in the morn- ing, and hekil!ed one man and wounded a second before O clock. Three pieces of light artillery played on his pit until the guns had fired dozen shells cach but he was unharmed. It was plain that he had dug his pit so deep and narrow that everything from our side must pass over it, and it was certain that we must try some other plan. Had he been without close support three or four men could have solved the proble em pretty quick, tut there were sharp shooters by tho hundreds in his rear, and that rear so close that not hat could show above our works without being made the target of dozen bullets.
 By noon of the second day we had had four men killed and five wounded by the one Yankee sharpshooter, and the Colonel commanding had offered a $20 gold piece to anyone who would finish him off. He might have made it $so; 900 for all we could do, as every body had culgelled his brains in vain for plan. It was about o'clock in the after noon that corporal belonging to some field artillery stationed mile or SO above us on the lines camo down to see relative of us, and when the sit uation had been explained to him and he had looked over the ground he said
 '.Give me an hours time and I'll have him out and win that gold piece"
 He returned to his command and secured half dozen small fuse- shells belonging to mountain howitzer which was then in park as of no account. When they were brought up he made a sling from the leather of bootleg and two stout cords and then gathered a dozen small stones to practice with. While he flung these stones one of tho men timed their fall, and in this way he knew how to cut the fuses. The fifth rock, flung high in th' air on curve, as mortar would throw it, fell so close to thu sharpshooter's pit that the corporal was satisfied. He then cut his fuses and began throwing lighted shell. The weight O them was about thirteen ounces, an6 while they did not fly as high as th' rocks, the curve was the same. We wer' all satisfied as to what the result would be. The fourth she'll dropped square into the pit and exploded as it struck and in the cloud of dirt blown out wa the sharpshootcr's cap, the stock of hi rife and his canteen. Not another sho was fired from the pit, nor did any Fed eral dare occupy it again.
 The Deadly Centipede.